Burnout and vicarious trauma can take a serious toll on people who devote their lives to supporting others. Here’s how we can help change that.
The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet.
— NAOMI RACHEL REMEN, MD
We’ve all heard of occupational hazards—risks that come with certain professions, like the danger of getting hurt while putting out fires or the long-term health impacts of working in a power plant.
But we don’t often acknowledge the occupational hazards that come with interpersonal work—like the work of social workers, court staff, and others who support people going through difficult experiences.
That work can result in something called vicarious trauma—trauma that comes from bearing witness to the traumatic experiences of others. 63 percent of judges show at least one symptom of vicarious trauma, and more than one in three child protective services staff meet the criteria for PTSD. These experiences are often intertwined with burnout—where chronic workplace stress results in feeling physically and mentally exhausted, detached, and sometimes unable to go on doing the work.
Vicarious trauma and burnout don’t just hurt practitioners; they also contribute to high levels of turnover in crucial services that people and communities rely on. Staff shortages, disruptions in care, and loss of more experienced staff members can jeopardize the vital work that service providers and community-based organizations aim to do. And no matter how dedicated they may be, practitioners experiencing burnout often have a harder time being there for those who need them.
In spaces like the justice system, these challenges are pervasive. But there are ways to alleviate them—and doing so is crucial to supporting those who make it their life’s work to support others.
1. Trauma-informed training
The importance of acknowledging trauma among people involved in the justice system, family court, and other sensitive spaces has become clearer in recent years. But given the dangers of vicarious trauma for those who work in these spaces, we also need to incorporate trauma-informed training and practices within the workplace, for staff themselves.
In order to prevent vicarious trauma and burnout, we need to be able to spot the warning signs and what leads up to it. Because trauma can show up in many different forms—including irritability, outbursts, and emotional numbness—investing in training for both staff and managers is the first step to making sure these issues don’t go unnoticed and unaddressed.
2. Encouraging a healthy work/life balance
People who devote their lives to supporting others sometimes find it hard to leave their work behind at the end of the day and make time for themselves. Yet time away from work—and time for relaxation and self-care in particular—are needed both to heal from the effects of vicarious trauma and burnout and to prevent them in the first place.
Managers can model that healthy balance by encouraging staff to take breaks and time off as needed. And practitioners can support each other by upholding norms that respect work/life boundaries and the need for time and space away from the job—for example, by trying not to send emails after work hours.
3. Investing in supervision
For people working with difficult experiences and material every day, having regular opportunities to talk to another trained professional about the challenges that come up in their work is essential. Yet limited resources mean that many people working in courts and other social service spaces don’t always have access to formal, quality supervision, adding to the risk of vicarious trauma and burnout.
Just as practitioners need training to best support others dealing with stressful and traumatic situations, supervisors also need training to best support their staff. Helping practitioners navigate the painful experiences of their clients while still caring for themselves goes hand-in-hand with supervisors’ responsibility to encourage professional growth and promote the best possible care for clients.
4. Creating a culture of understanding and support
Workplace culture can play a major role in both increasing the risks of burnout and vicarious trauma and helping to address them. Idolizing “workplace martyrs”—people who sacrifice their own health and well-being for their work—can create a culture of unsustainable standards that end up harming both practitioners and those they aim to serve.
Everyone—from managers and supervisors to coworkers and peers—can help build the kind of supportive, understanding environment that’s needed to limit the risks of burnout and vicarious trauma. Checking in with colleagues who may be struggling, creating space to share complicated feelings and experiences, and breaking the stigma around these issues can help challenge the isolation that people often feel when dealing with them.
The health and safety of our communities depend on the work that court staff, social workers, mental health providers, and violence interrupters do every day—work that often involves bearing witness to immense human suffering. To create truly sustainable change, we need to recognize that the people who devote their lives to building safety and justice need help and support in this work too.